Worthy Successor
by Kayani-Yun
Summary: The clock is ticking and it's a race against time to save humanity, but separated by time and fate, can our saviour pick up the pieces of her strained relationship with a certain bandit leader? LR retelling: Completely left of canon. Rated M for Violence and strong language. Warning: Major LR spoilers.


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Worthy Successor

Chapter One: Reunited

Xxx

Taking a sip from her coffee mug, Fang stared out from the window of the bandit headquarters. The wind blew sand across the bland desert terrain, almost blocking her view of the grand spectacle that was Lightning Farron, engaged in heavy combat with a pack of desert beasts.

Fang had been made aware of her presence the second she had stepped off the train in the Dead Dunes. She had wanted nothing more than to greet her upon arrival, but had stopped herself from doing so.

"Boss, you busy?" Adonis. Fang had known the guy for a few years now. He was a kind hearted man, if you could deal with the come-ons.

"No, I'm free, what's the problem?"

Fang didn't bother to turn and face the man, the view from the window was far more entertaining. She was itching to get out there and join the fray, but held herself back.

"I think you can see the problem boss."

The fight had now ended, in Lightning's favour of course and Fang watched her walk through the gates of the bandit camp.

"She isn't a problem Adonis, just send her up to me, yeah." Fang turned to face the man, with Lightning out of view the terrain held little interest.

"Sure boss." He said, turning to leave the room. "Anything for you."

Fang rolled her eyes. When she had first found this lawless band of mercenaries and thieves, she had found the man's flirtatious humour quite entertaining, but over the years her patience had reached its limit. As every day passed she felt the crushing weight of her responsibilities bearing down on her with every painful tick of the clock. She knew there was little hope remaining and that little hope was the one and only Lightning Farron.

* * *

The bandit camp wasn't exactly impressive, but then again Lightning wasn't exactly there for sightseeing. She sighed yet again at Hope's incessant chattering in her ear, she didn't need the running commentary but she held her tongue, she knew he was only trying to be helpful.

"Your target is close by Light," Hope was obviously referring to one of the six priority souls she had been tasked to find. "Whoever it is, they're in this building."

"Yeah, thanks Hope," Lightning muttered, trying not to draw attention to herself, she had already received some confused looks from passers-by who obviously assumed she was talking to herself.

"Hey you? In the crazy get-up."

Lightning didn't flinch, only turned to face the man that was apparently addressing her. She had become accustomed to people making comments regarding her unusual taste in clothing.

"Did you want something?" She asked. She didn't really care what the man wanted, but if he had another task for her to complete, it was one step closer to an extra day on the clock.

"I don't need anything, but the boss wants to see you."

Lightning shrugged her shoulders, she was here now, so she figured she may as well go with the flow. "Fine, let's go."

It wasn't long before Lightning was following the man to a large wooden door. She had no idea what to expect or what this boss person wanted from her. She had been surprised lately just how many people were willing to approach her with their problems, but even the most insignificant of tasks got her one step closer to her ultimate goal.

"Hey boss, here's our new friend with the crazy powers."

Lightning gasped, immediately recognising the long slender set of legs that rested on the large wooden desk. "Fang." She whispered, not quite believing her own eyes.

"Glad you could make it, took you long enough."

There was an awkward moment of silence filled only by the nervous shuffling of feet. Lightning approached slowly, meeting her eyes. "You son of a bitch!"

The blow that followed was enough to knock the lance right out of Fang's grip, sending it flying across the room. She staggered backwards, hitting the desk behind her. Recovering quickly, she held her hands out in a gesture of surrender.

"Okay, okay. I suppose I deserved that."

Lightning snarled. Damn right Fang deserved it, she deserved a lot worse.

Straightening her sari, Fang sat on the edge of the desk, waving at Adonis in a gesture of dismissal. He nodded, still carrying a look of confusion at what he had just witnessed before turning to leave the room.

"So, now you got that out of your system, can we talk?"

Talk, Lightning almost felt like laughing. After everything that had happened, all they had been through, she didn't even know where to start.

"Why are you here Fang?" The question only seemed to confuse, so Lightning continued. "Shouldn't you be with Vanille?"

"I'm here _for_ Vanille, but I'll get to that." Fang replied, her tone coming off as a little dismissive. "I want to talk about us."

This time Lightning really did laugh, but it was completely without humour. She couldn't believe the audacity of this woman. "Are you fucking kidding me, Fang?"

The awkward silence returned, stretching out until somebody was forced to break it.

"Lightning," Fang whispered her name, her tone shifting to one of gentle affection. She moved to stand in front of her, placing her hands on both shoulders. "I've missed you."

Shaking her head in a vain attempt to clear her mind, Lightning sighed heavily. Damn it all if this woman didn't have the worst kind of effect on her. She cursed herself for being unable to simply push her away. After all this time, the mixed emotions, and hateful resentment, she couldn't push her feelings aside. Despite everything she was loath to admit that being in her presence still caused her to skip a beat, but Fang couldn't just expect her to fall into her arms. Life just wasn't that simple.

"Light, can you hear me?" Of course the boy's timing was impeccable.

"Yes Hope, what's wrong?" She stepped away from Fang, grateful for the opportunity to clear her head.

"Sensors say you're right on top of your target. So I guess that means it's Fang." Way to point out the obvious. Lightning pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Although she was grateful for the interruption.

"Yeah, thanks Hope."

"Hope?" Fang had shaken off her look of confusion, and was staring intently at the side of Lightning's head. "Hope's talking to you?"

"Yes, he's been feeding me information."

Fang nodded, but soon found herself frowning when Lightning sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead. She looked so tired. "Listen Lightning-"

"No, you listen Fang!" She didn't have time for this, if only Fang knew the pressure she was under. "I need to focus right now, there is too much at stake."

"And where have I heard that before?" Fang threw her arms up, pacing the room. She was sick and tired of these endless excuses. "All I want is to talk to you for five bloody minutes. I need to know where we stand."

If Lightning had been able to think of an adequate response, she wasn't given time to verbalise it.

"The world is ending, I have to save my sister. Any minute now we're going to become Cie'th!" Fang paced the room, her anger reaching boiling point. She mocked Lightning with a poor imitation of her voice. "We _die_, we turn to crystal. I have to save the world or humanity is lost forever. Sound about right_ saviour_!? You've been making excuses for as long as I've known you."

She paused for a moment, catching her breath. Her voice becoming low and almost dangerous. She needed to be understood, to say her peace. After bottling it up for so long.

"I understood it then, and I understand it now. I know you still hate me for leaving you, but do these problems really prevent you from talking to me for _five-fucking-minutes!_?"

The words were out and Fang didn't regret them. Lightning needed to understand how she felt. She knew and fully understood how desperate the situation was, but she needed closure. If they were all about to die, that didn't feel like an unreasonable request.

"Fang…I."

It wasn't that Lightning didn't have a lot to say, but at that moment her mind went blank. Fang was right. After all the moments they had shared, the gentle kisses, the words of love and devotion between heated battles, and an uncertain future. She had allowed her resentment to cloud her judgement. Fang had left her, abandoned her to sleep the centuries away. She had done it to save Cocoon, but to Lightning it had always felt like the ultimate betrayal.

They were now reunited but the pain still remained. She wanted more than anything to fall into those strong arms. To forget everything and find a few moments of peace in a lover's embrace, but it wasn't that easy.

"I don't hate you." It was almost a whisper but Fang heard it clearly.

Willing to risk the possibility of rejection, she pulled Lightning into a tight embrace, wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her face in soft pink hair. She sighed when she felt Lightning's arms come to rest around her shoulders and her head burying itself in the crook of her neck.

They held each other for a few moments, basking in the familiar warmth of their embrace, until Lightning pulled back just enough to rest their foreheads together.

"You know I want to talk about this Fang." The emotion of the moment was evident in her voice. She wanted so badly to lean in and seal their lips together, but she held back, at least for now. "Please try and understand."

Not having the same degree of self-restraint, Fang closed the distance between them, gently pressing their lips together. The kiss was brief and spoke nothing of the true depth of her passion, but instead tenderly acknowledged her understanding and her love.

"Okay," She whispered. "When you're ready, we'll talk."

Neither of them made any attempt to pull apart, simply continuing to hold each other until the moment of peace was broken.

"Sorry to interrupt Light but...you have things to do, remember?"

Of course she hadn't forgotten, but for a brief moment, she had almost allowed herself to. She pulled herself reluctantly out of Fang's arms, stepping back and folding her arms across her chest.

"Yes Hope, I know." She tried to keep the irritation from her voice, but it bled through.

"Well, okay then." Fang said, moving to retake her seat on the edge of the desk. "Now, _saviour_, you're going to help me save Vanille's life."

It was then that Lightning's earpiece came to life once again but this time it was welcomed, she definitely needed the information.


End file.
